France’s President Emmanuel Macron (R) stands next to Britain’s Prime Minister Keir Starmer (L) as he attends a joint press conference following an international summit on efforts to reopen the Strait of Hormuz in Paris on April 17, 2026.
TOM NICHOLSON / POOL /AFP
Critics say it is in Paris’ best interest to stand and watch migrants continue on their journeys to the UK.
Britain’s Labour government has signed another ‘small boats’ deal with France, following a fresh round of embarrassing migration reports. But this one looks as likely to be useless as those that have come before it.
The UK has already pledged more than £700 million (€810 million) to France since 2018, to support its ‘efforts’ to get a grip on illegal Channel crossings. With well over 40,000 such crossings last year alone, it is clear that these have failed.
Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood is now due to sign a new three-year agreement today, April 23rd, worth another £662 million (€765 million). She said “this landmark deal will stop illegal migrants making the perilous journey and put people smugglers behind bars.”
But Reform official Zia Yusuf argued that it was bound not to work, since it is in France’s interest to move migrants on towards Britain.
Why would France want these people staying in France? It’s obviously in France’s interest that they would come to Britain, otherwise they would be a burden on the French state and the French taxpayer, and would potentially commit crimes in France as opposed to Britain.
Yusuf insisted this was “obvious to anyone with half a brain,” and called on the government to instead withdraw Britain from the ECHR—one of the favourite tools of those opposed to strict border controls—and to ramp up deportations of illegal migrants.
‘It is in France’s interest that they would come to Britain!’
Home Affairs Spokesperson for Reform UK Zia Yusuf hits out at the government for striking a fresh migration deal with the French. pic.twitter.com/QXttKDo0ld
Lora Ries, from the U.S.-based Heritage Foundation, agreed that the new deal will not “move the needle much” because France views the UK as “a relief valve” for its own migration problem. She said it was a “win-win” for Paris, which will be the recipient of a new pile of cash, while continuing to allow migrants to make their way to Britain.
As part of the agreement, riot-trained police will supposedly be sent to beaches in France, as well as millions of euros worth of drones and a camera system.
Michael Curzon is a news writer for europeanconservative.com based in England’s Midlands. He is also Editor of Bournbrook Magazine, which he founded in 2019, and previously wrote for London’s Express Online. His Twitter handle is @MichaelCurzon_.
